Vita ny Stagey

Training is done! All that awaits is our official swearing in on Tuesday, April 27th. I'm thrilled to be done with the rigorous schedule and endless and marginally beneficial courtesy visits to every tom-dick-and-harry environmentally related bureaucracy and NGO (non-governmental organization) in the country. I will miss my host family very much, especially my sweet and fetsy-fetsy (witty, coy, sketchy, funny, sneaky... almost every word mean lots of things here) host mother.

While I've been in the capital (yesterday, today, and tomorrow) I've been running all over the city on a supply easter egg hunt. So far I've found everything but the pink and blue hardboiled egg and the chocolate bunny. It feels like an easter egg hunt because there is no wallmart, home depot, mall, or any sort of aggregated economic activity besides the multiple open air markets around the city. Otherwise, everything I need is scattered all over the sprawling, hilly 3rd world city. However, I've become quite good at negotiating taxi fares and asking people for directions.

I'm looking forward to moving to site with a mixuture of excitement, aprehension, and apathy, and neurosis. I'd explain further but that would be difficult and I've haven't really had time to process my emotions yet. To stay sain, I focus on the first projects I'm going to start at site. I'm going to start by modeling simple technologies such as composting, vegetable gardening, tree nursery-ing, improved (mud) cook stoves, rain water catchment (i.e. gutters) while at the same time fixing up my stick hut and outhouse. If anyone has some expertese in Feng Shwey (sp?) especially related to squate-toilett outhouses, I'd appresiate some advice. I was thinking I'd start with an olive green trim with some rose wallpaper. Thoughts?

Ok, I must be off. If all goes as planned I'll post again within a week. I miss you all (except anyone reading this who I don't know, in which case- stop reading this and start sending me a care package to introduce yourself).

Rehefa Avy Eo

1 Month In

Salama? (Hi / Okay / what's up?) I just returned to Tana from my site visit. I am exactly half way through training. Things are going pretty well. I am living with a host family in a small remote, but middle class (malagasy middle class) town 2 hours East of Tana (the capital). My host family is great they care for me very much and are great about giving me space and time alone.

Adapting to a new culture is a lot like growing up all over again. You start out an infant- no vocabulary, a bit of crying, gastro-intestinal trauma. But slowly you acquire some words, bond with your family, and begin to venture out on your own. Right now, I'd say I just turned 16. I went on my first solo venture through the countryside (more about this later) and I'm beginning to feel comfortable interacting with Malagasy people, all the while I'm growing tired of Peace Corps "testing" they are constantly surprising us (usually with bad news and schedule changes) and as I explore I'm beginning to see that the trainers haven't quite told us the whole truth about this country and the people. Don't worry though, I don't think I'll be a rebelous teenager, I think I'll save that for my late 20's.

In other news, I saw my site. It is absolutely fantastic. Really, it's unbelievably gorgeous. Imagine a key-west beach mixed with an african decidous forest (think coastal texas if you can't picture that), combined with a cheesapeak bay like marsh (lots of egrets). It is so beautiful. (I'll post pictures in a few weeks)

Any of you who have thought even remotely about coming to visit. Stop thinking, start planning- this is a once in a lifetime travel opportunity for you. A bungalo style hotel is under construction and will be done in a few months. It is also gorgeous, but also quante (and rustic, although they are planning to install solar power and there are showers and toilets). You will be able to stay in the hotel and/or in my hut (yes I am going to live in a hut. But its a nice hut.) and get to see rural african life from the inside rather than as a tourist. So the best time to come is anytime after october of this year. Oh, and Dad- stop worrying about parasites they are relatively rare, never fatal, and usually nothing more than a minor annoyance. Yes, that's right, a minor annoyance, really!

So I'll try to write some more tomorrow night (tuesday march 22nd). I have to go as my computer time is all used up (we have 12 people here tonight and only 1 computer). I love many of you and miss all of you. Please write letters, I have only recieved them from Maya, Mom, and Dad. AND, I don't have your addresses, so you have to write first.

Veloma

Made it!

Hello from Antananarivo! I am finally here. All my luggage, however, is not here yet. Much of the group's luggage didn't make it from the Delta plane in Paris to the Air France plane for Tana. We had a chaotic layover in Paris with only 45 minutes to change terminals before the plane took off. I ran around the airport like a total noob, scared that I and two other volonteers were the only ones lost. Turns out we made it to the gate first. Anyway, due to the short layover, only some of our bhyags arrived with us. We have been assured that the rest will come tomorrow- I'm not holding my breathe.

After the baggage ordeal, we left customs and were greeted by the welcoming committee. Seriously, there was an honest-to-god welcoming comittee! About 10 current volonteers, who had been brought in to Tana for training and welcoming committy-ing greeted us with cheers and hugs. They helped us and our luggage into the PC vans and rode home with us. They seem happy, healthy, and enthusiastic.

The PC office in Tana is a beautiful little compound located... somewhere in the city. The buiding is a two-story french-colonial, complete with a blooming flower garden. I saw some small green geckos climbing around the walls, but was too tired to harass them.

We got settled in rather quickly last night and pretty much went right to bed. However, I soon discovered that my body didn't want to go to sleep at what it knew to be 6pm. Eventually, I took a sleeping pill and got a solid 1-2 hours of sleep. I was suddenly awoken by the oddest- and loudest- birdcall i've ever heard. I decided to forget about sleep and wander about and see what it feels like to be the first one up.

I chased some geckos in the courtyard, memorized a few words of Malagasy, and began writing this. The internet here is rather slow, not 1994 slow, but at perhaps 1998 slow.

I don't know when I'll have internet access again. Perhaps later this month, perhaps not. I hope y'all will write me a letter soon (be sure to include your address). Goodbye for now.

Hotel in Philly

Hello everyone! I am currently at the hotel in philly. I only have a few minutes until training reconviens, so here goes-

First impressions- the other trainees seem great. Everyone is friendly and welcoming. Here are some stats on our group. 19 trainees. 12 female, 7 male. 1 married couple. avg age- 25-27. 2 older trainees- women in their 50s. People are from all over the US, except new england.

Training has been intense, yet informal and fun. I am beginning to question many of my assumptions about the future. Madagscar seems safer, yet more remote than i had imagined.

I will not have regular access to the internet during training. More to come tonight.

Maybe later

First off, I'd like to thank everyone who came to my "Going Away Party" last Saturday. It was great to see you all. For those who couldn't make it, it was not great not to see you.

Although I've done a good job in giving everyone my contact information, I regret that I have done an awful job in getting everyone's info. So, if you would like letters, pictures and such you will either have to 1) email me your info 2) mail me first or 3) fade into oblivion.

Anyway, I am currently working to get ready for my departure on sunday. This mostly involves shopping for the last few items on my "to buy" list and organizing my possesions into piles of "want to bring," "need to bring," and "don't know if I should bring." I am limited to 80lbs of luggage so I am going to have to start making some hard decisions soon. I also have a "to do" list which I panickingly yank out of my pocket every few hours only to scan through thinking, "haven't done it, haven't done it, don't want to do it, haven't done it, maybe later, maybe later, maybe later..." I think that I will officially rename tomorrow "later." Of course, I've been saying that for days.